Guidance Centre
Chelsea Preparatory School’s Guidance Centre was started to meet the needs of children who required support to optimise their learning potential. Our aim is to work alongside pupils at foundation phase level to remediate areas in which they are experiencing problems and boost their confidence. Early intervention is imperative, especially if a child’s self-esteem is fragile.
Our Guidance Centre comprises a Speech Therapist, an Occupational Therapist, a Counsellor and two Academic Support Teachers who meet regularly to discuss how best to help children and nurture the unique needs of each child in their care.
Academic Support
Chelsea Preparatory School’s two Academic Support Teachers assist pupils who are experiencing challenges in the field of language. Phonological awareness, spelling, comprehension, reading and writing skills are all covered. Thinking skills and educational games are incorporated into the lessons in fun and exciting ways.
Scholastic assessments of all learners from Grade 1 to Grade 3 are conducted to identify any areas of intervention and support that may be required.
Counselling
The counselling team of Chelsea Preparatory School comprises Mrs Lesley Finlay and Mrs Lauren Staples, both of whom are registered professionals in the counselling field and who have a passion for working with children, and by extension, their families, in an educational setting.
Our team is available to provide emotional support for children and their parents as they navigate their primary school journey, as well as support for those unexpected family crises such as death and divorce. Our team will also assist when children are battling to cope with difficult emotions, such as anxiety, anger or loneliness. In instances where severe, ongoing emotional conditions are prevalent, our counsellors offer parental guidance as well as referrals to other suitable professionals outside of the school environment, if and when necessary.
The benefit of having counsellors on campus is that children feel comfortable in a familiar setting. Our counsellors provide a supportive relationship in which the child can work on improving their social skills, self-awareness and learning capacity, as well as enhancing their emotional and mental wellbeing.
Our counsellors use techniques to help children with the expression of feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Drawing, sand tray, storytelling and projective play are some of the tools used in these sessions, which generally last 30 minutes and take place during school hours. Our counsellors facilitate the child’s own healing at the child’s particular level and pace.
Parents are welcome to contact the Counselling Department regarding their child’s specific needs. For the junior campus, contact Lauren Staples at lstaples@chelseaprep.co.za and for the senior campus, contact Lesley Finlay at lfinlay@chelseaprep.co.za.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy (OT) helps with barriers that affect a person’s emotional, social and physical needs. OT helps children play, improves their school performance and aids their daily activities. This is achieved by the way in which OT assists with cognitive (thinking) skills and sensory-processing problems. It develops fine motor skills, which assists in the areas of grasp and release, good handwriting and computer skills. OT improves visual-perceptual skills so children can perform necessary school skills such as copying from a blackboard and playing with a bat and ball. As a result, it also boosts a child’s self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.
At Chelsea Preparatory School, we are fortunate to have an Occupational Therapist within the Guidance Centre on the junior campus, available to help those pupils who need assistance and help them reach their goals. She works closely within a transdisciplinary team of teachers, therapists, counsellors and academic support teachers who are well versed in Chelsea Prep’s unique ways and the school system as a whole.
Our Occupational Therapist offers initial assessments to plan your child’s therapy and discuss their strengths and areas of concern, along with their occupational therapy goals. Tools and programmes used include assessment reviews, classroom-based therapy programmes, classroom observations, classroom ergonomic adjustments and sensory strategy implementation. All of our OT sessions are designed to work directly with your child to promote skill level and confidence.
Speech and Language Therapy
Within Chelsea Preparatory School’s Guidance Centre on the junior campus, we have a private on-site Speech and Language Therapist who provides Speech and Language Therapy intervention to children who have been identified as needing assistance with speech and articulation difficulties and/or have difficulties in their language areas.
Articulation (the pronunciation of words) is the ability to physically move the tongue, lips, teeth and jaw to produce sequences of speech sounds, which make up words and sentences. Correct articulation is important to be able to produce sounds, words and sentences that are clear and can be easily understood and interpreted by others, in order to be able to express basic needs and wants, right through to being able to engage in complex conversations. A child who is having difficulties being understood can become frustrated, which may lead to behavioural issues. Articulation is also important in literacy skills such as reading and spelling out of words.
Language can be broken down into the understanding and processing of language (receptive language) and in the expression of language (expressive language). Language intervention helps children who are experiencing difficulties with processing language loaded instructions, understanding spoken language, recalling information and understanding the underlying rules that apply to language. Expressive language intervention focuses on putting sounds and words together to form new words, applying decoding skills for spelling and reading, building vocabulary repertoire and using language with correct sentence structure and in the correct grammatical context.
There are many areas that Speech and Language Therapists can remediate to improve a child’s ability which has a significant impact on their confidence.
Junior Primary Aftercare
For convenience and safety, Chelsea Preparatory School’s Aftercare is situated on the junior campus. We provide a high standard of service, constantly reviewing and improving our offering. We provide a basic but filling daily snack and ensure that pupils get to and from their extramural activities on our junior campus.
We have a dedicated team of staff who care for our pupils, providing not only school activity and homework support, but also emotional support, and a varied routine each afternoon to ensure stimulation and fun in a safe environment.
Senior Primary Homework Club
Statistics show that, once they have returned home from school, most children battle to settle down and complete their homework because of all the general household distractions around them. A well-structured Homework Club is offered to all Grade 4 to 7 pupils on Chelsea Preparatory School’s Senior Primary campus. It is overseen by co-ordinator, Natalie Benade, who works with qualified teachers with whom the pupils are familiar.
Our Homework Club provides a quiet, relaxed and safe in-school environment where reliable assistance is given to the pupils to complete homework and any incomplete classwork, without stress or anxiety. We strive to instil organisational and time management skills and highlight to pupils the value of working hard. It’s not all serious – our Homework Club is also a fun place to be, providing an opportunity to make new friends and to practice communication skills.
Jelly Cats Uniform Shop
Jelly Cats, Chelsea Preparatory School’s uniform shop, carries the full school uniform range on a seasonal basis and is situated on our senior campus.
Our uniform shop offers the service of delivering any uniform items needed, to your child’s classroom once proof of EFT payment has been received. Our senior campus pupils are welcome to visit the uniform shop before school begins or at first break for sizing purposes.
The operating hours during the school terms are as follows:
Monday – Thursday: 07h00 – 10h30 and 12h00 – 15h00
Friday: 07H00 – 10H30 only
As from November 2022, you will need to make an appointment to purchase items.
New pupils will be allocated 30 minute appointments. Please contact Mrs Carolan to make your appoinement.
Should there be any extenuating circumstances whereby additional arrangements are required, you are welcome to call Mrs Carolan on 072 234 0814 or email at cheryl@chelseaprep.co.za .
To view the current uniform list, click the relevant link below.
Grade R Uniform
Girls Uniform
Boys Uniform
The Lion’s Den
Chelsea Preparatory School’s tuckshop, The Lion’s Den, is situated on the senior campus and managed by Durban North’s popular Mayfair Café. It boasts a coffee machine, healthy meals and delicious treats.
Only healthy meals may be purchased at first break, treats and cool drinks are purchased at second break.
The Lion’s Den is open before school for those pupils who do early morning sport, during the school day and then after school before extra murals start, as well as when sport fixtures are played on Saturdays at Chelsea.
The Lion’s Den uses the TapTuck app, a free downloadable app that allows parents to pre-order and pay for healthy meals, treats and drinks through the app.
